The true story of the women who sewed for Nazi wives to survive
The Dressmakers of Auschwitz is the true story of the women who sewed for Nazi wives to survive.
Lucy Adlington’s The Dressmakers of Auschwitz (HarperCollins, 2021) recounts the history of twenty-five young Auschwitz-Birkenau prisoners who were chosen to design and sew beautiful fashions for elite Nazi women.
This book not only tells readers about this group of dressmakers, but also discusses the story of clothes during the Holocaust and the history of the fashion industry during World War II. The fashion workshop in Auschwitz-Birkenau was established by Hedwig Höss, the camp commandant’s wife. Called the Upper Tailoring Studio, it was operated by prisoners literally sewing for their lives, and patronized by the wives of SS guards and officers, as well as women in Berlin’s Nazi elite. Adlington’s sources include interviews with the last surviving seamstress. She describes how bonds of family and friendship helped the women endure and even play a part in resistance. The book tells the story of the dressmakers in the context of Nazi policies for plunder, greed, cruelty, exploitation, and hypocrisy.